When the Yankees signed Kevin Youkilis as an emergency stopgap at third base, many wondered how the irascible Youk would get along in the clubhouse with Joba Chamberlain, a pitcher who was once suspended by MLB for throwing at Youkilis, and has had several run ins with the right-handed hitter. Joba sought to break the ice by calling Youkilis to welcome him to the team, but via ESPN New York it appears that Youkilis hasn't been similarly motivated to reach out. According to Joba, he left a message for Youkilis on that call, but the call has yet to be returned. Joba did downplay the fact though, by noting that it's not like the two don't anticipate seeing each other soon. "I’m bound to run into him at some point," Joba joked. "Sooner rather than later so we’ll see what happens."

For his part, Youkilis downplayed the importance of his history with Joba when he was introduced as a Yankee, and in all likelihood this is more interesting factoid than story-that-matters. But it's January, and this is the sort of thing the rags love, so expect to see it as a subplot to Spring Training until the two have a man hug in the batting cage or something.